Generali Names Finance Chief

Updated Sept. 28, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

Assicurazioni Generali SpA appointed the first chief financial officer in its 176-year history and unveiled a three-year business plan that anticipates 2009 net profit to be 58% higher than in 2006. Raffaele Agrusti, the director general of the company, will assume the post of finance chief in a bid to improve corporate governance. Analysts and investors have long urged Generali to create the position to help it become a more market-oriented company.

Generali, Europe's third-largest insurer by market value, said it is...